


How to Insult a Vampire

by ValmureEld



Series: Team Succeed or Die Trying [5]
Category: Castlevania (Cartoon), 悪魔城ドラキュラ | Castlevania Series
Genre: Angst, Banter, Family, Fondness, Gen, I wrote so much banter the angst train was an inevitable arrival, Introspection, Light Angst, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Worry, heart to heart, starting to care about each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-15
Updated: 2017-09-15
Packaged: 2018-12-30 02:55:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12099168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValmureEld/pseuds/ValmureEld
Summary: Alucard and Trevor are at camp alone while Sypha gathers firewood, and Alucard decides to begin a deep conversation with no warning because he got his sense of subtlety from his dad's side of the gene pool. There's something that bothers him about this human, and it's this distinct lack of evidence pointing to an actual desire for self preservation.Also known as, Alucard sort of admitting he's grown fond of Trevor and cares about him and Trevor slowly realizing that's what this teenager of a vampire is attempting to say.





	How to Insult a Vampire

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so for those of you who've been absolute stars and commented on all my fics so far, I've decided to start a series since I'm writing all of these one shots sort of interconnected. You don't *have* to read the others to get everything, but Trevor's heart condition (harmless arrhythmia) and other team bonding moments do come into play so fair warning. 
> 
> Wrote this because I'm going through a lot right now and apparently Castlevania has become my safe space? Or one of them? Who knows just...here have some more. 
> 
> I write purely on Netflix cannon, what tiny smudge I read in the Castlevania wiki, and my own rapidly growing sea of headcannon.

“It was somewhat insulting, if I'm being honest.” 

Trevor raised an eyebrow, leaning back against a tree and stretching before tucking his hands behind his head. “What's that then?”

“Your reaction to me during the fight. I was almost annoyed.” 

Both eyebrows went up, amusement drawn between them. “I managed to annoy you on our first encounter? Do tell how. Was it the knee to crotch move?”

“No,” Alucard said, narrowing his eyes. “After that. When I'd pinned you.” 

Trevor sat up, leaning forward between his drawn up knees to rest his elbows on them. “You were...what--insulted that I didn't care if I died?”

“No. I was insulted that the fastest your heart beat during that entire encounter was when you drew your sword and rushed me. By the time I had you on your back and my fangs over your throat you were actually slowing down.”

Trevor blinked, staring at the hybrid across their campfire. It was Sypha's night to stand watch and the speaker mage was gathering more firewood before taking her post. Trevor and Alucard were therefore waiting to sleep and passing the time. A few weeks back Alucard just starting a conversation mid air would have thrown him, but Trevor had quickly learned that Alucard was usually having some kind of conversation in his head, and once in a while decided to just drop a line of it into mid air by way of invitation. 

“Let me get this straight. You're annoyed that my heart didn't quicken at the threat of your bite? Me? When you already knew I was a Belmont and unafraid of dying. Are you really that vain?”

Alucard waved a hand. “Plenty of men claim to have no fear of death and yet end their lives begging from their knees in pools of their own tears and urine.”

“That was...colorful. But again,” Trevor tugged at his tunic and pointed at the crest shielding his heart. “Belmont.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And Belmonts don't even hesitate in the face of death? Your adrenaline doesn't surge at the thought of a vampire sinking his teeth into your throat?”

Trevor shrugged, breaking eye contact to stare into the fire. “This one doesn't. What do I have to fear, anyway? My whole family is dead. My duty as a Belmont is to carry out their legacy, and that means fighting monsters in the defense of the people. You were my monster. If you had taken my life I would have been at peace with my place in the state of things. I told you this during the fight. Are you really still wrestling with it?” 

Alucard frowned, leaning forward and studying Trevor. He seemed to want to answer, and then thought better of it, disappearing in a wash of silvery smoke and re-materializing just inches from Trevor's left. He jumped, a scowl quickly wiping away his surprise as he glared at the vampire. 

“Do you have to do that?” 

Alucard smiled, flicking his eyes down to Trevor's chest and back up. “Yes.”

Trevor snorted and rubbed the heel of his hand against his breastbone, muttering curses at his own heart for betraying him. It had skipped twice and started pounding at Alucard's stunt. “Satisfied? You managed to startle me, set my adrenaline pumping. What more do you want?”

“I want you to care, Belmont” Alucard said, his tone suddenly serious. Trevor met his gold eyes with a skeptical glance, leaning back a little.

“About what? I thought I already met your prophetic hunter requirements.”

“About this,” Alucard said, reaching out a hand and brushing the tips of his nails along Trevor's throat. Trevor flinched back a little, shooting the vampire a warning look. This time, Alucard didn't seem pleased at the way Trevor's heart responded. He looked genuinely troubled. “About living. I want the threat of your death to scare you.”

“Why? What good does being afraid do anyone?” Trevor asked, turning and dropping one leg so he was leaning against his knee, the other tucked beneath him. “You said it yourself, so many men die pleading for a few more moments, a few more hours, a few more days kneeling in their own filth. Why would I want to do the same?” 

Alucard shook his head. “That is what fear does to cowards. You are no coward, Trevor Belmont. You are a warrior and a hunter. Fear in a hunter turns to strength, to survival, to a driving will to live and prevail. If you think you'll need anything less when we face my father then I fear for our success.”

“Sounds like you're doing enough fearing for all three of us.”

“I'm serious.”

“So am I,” Trevor insisted. “Why is my purpose as a Belmont not enough? I want to stop Dracula to protect the people. Protecting the people is the Belmont purpose. The Belmont purpose is what keeps me alive, what keeps me fighting when everyone I love was destroyed by the same people who killed your mother and started this nightmare in the first place! Do I need more drive? You of all people know the burden of family. I hid for a time, drowning in drink and furs, hiding my crest and my pride for grief and for shame and for anger, but that time is over. I will die in this fight, eventually. Either felled to your father or whatever threat comes after him. When my heart does stop, it will still beneath the gold of my family crest, and I am at peace with that.” 

He gripped his tunic in his fervency, his eyes bright with his conviction. Alucard studied him for a long moment before dropping his gaze, nodding slowly. “Very well. I did not mean to overstep my boundaries. Allow me to give you one thing to think on?” He looked at Trevor again, and actually waited. 

Trevor blinked. “Alright?”

“I do not want you afraid for its own sake. Being at peace with death is a blessing the majority of your kind will never experience. But do not welcome it, Trevor.” 

Alucard's voice had grown soft, and his expression was almost troubled. Trevor was shocked into silence by the use of his first name. 

“You have a life independent of what your family left for you. Care about that life, too. It is something I'm still learning for myself. I am doing this because it is what my mother would have wanted, but though it pains me to oppose my father it is what I want as well. I want to see a life outside of this war. That was my mother's true vision—a day when soldiers can stay asleep. It is only recently as I've been mulling over her teachings that I realized she never intended me to be just one thing. She wanted me to minister, and to live my own life. To care about living because I am alive, not because I have a duty to fulfill.”

Trevor listened, turning his head away to stare into the flames. His fingers were still curled against his chest, the gold embroidery brushing against his knuckles. He was quiet for a long, long time.

“Your mother was very wise. I regret that I never got to meet her,” he said at last, looking up and meeting Alucard's eyes. “I'll work on it.” He gave a small, slightly lopsided smile, drawing an X with his finger over his sternum. “Cross my heart.”

Alucard wrinkled his nose but couldn't look truly annoyed through the amusement and even gratitude in his eyes. “Don't you finish that phrase, Belmont.”


End file.
